Death dive

Mary at the Movies

Choosing a very curious time in this nation’s history with its release, “Red Sparrow” gives us a unique look into the spy world from the Russian point of view.

Jennifer Lawrence takes on an unusual role for her. She is excellent as a Russian prima ballerina for the Bolshoi Ballet, Dominika Egorov, whose career ends when another dancer crushes her leg. (Hearing her leg crunch when her dance partner jumps on it ran cold chills up my spine.) The injury means that she and her ailing mother will be turned out of their home and her mother will no longer get the health care she needs to live.

Her uncle Vanya, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, sets her up to witness a murder. She either becomes a “sparrow” or is killed. Sparrow School is a spy school run by Matron, a woman with ice water in her veins, played by Charlotte Rampling. The school teaches Russian spies to use sex to manipulate people into spying for Russia. (A word of warning: the sex is graphic and there is full frontal nudity of both men and women.)

Dominika must find out from an American CIA agent, Nate Nash, who is his Russian mole. Joel Edgerton plays the agent who is immediately attracted to Dominika. His job is to turn her into a spy for the United States.

There are more twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout the film. The script, written by Justin Haye and based on the novel by Jason Matthews, drags a little in the middle but the beginning and end are so exciting that it makes up for a slow 10-minute stretch. What makes this fun is you are never sure who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.

I had trouble following where the characters were physically. The action supposedly took place in Russia, Hungary and London, but following exactly where they were was a little confusing, as were the names. Not used to Russian names, it was sometimes difficult following which characters were talking about when they called them by name.

The torture scenes left nothing ambiguous, however. They were brutal and I wondered if people could really survive the torture we were seeing on the screen. The audience groaned with every punch the guards gave the victim.

Although many scenes will make you cringe, this was a fascinating film to watch. If you don’t mind graphic sexual scenes and violence, you will enjoy this film.